62 MEMOIR OF DR. HARVEY. 



morning. It was such as to put me in mind of a fine calm 

 Sunday in the heart of the country, and the people going 

 to mass, with their red cloaks and white caps, and greeting 

 each other with, "A blessed morning, the Lord be praised." 

 Such an atmosphere ; a blue sky and bright sun, has always an 

 excessively pleasant effect on my spirits. It gives me a feeling 

 of extreme happiness, and a portion of love to all persons and 

 things. There is likewise a sense of praise and gratitude 

 entirely unpremeditated which can scarcely help forcing itself on 

 the mind. Different persons will be affected thus by different 

 states of the atmosphere. Mine is the morning air, calm with 

 bright sun ; others prefer evening and a rich sunset ; and I suppose 

 others expand at noon. Now my lady-patroness might make a 

 simile about flowers, that open at different hours, much to the 

 purpose. The Pimpernel, the Sunflower, the Evening-primrose, 

 I place the Pimpernel, for want of a better, as a flower for sunny 

 mornings. I might find a more suitable one if I poked my 

 brains. 



The night was balmy and beautiful, with bright stars, and 

 the Magellan clouds sufficiently defined to be duly appre- 

 ciated. Say what you will, the Plough and Orion beat the 

 stars of the south hollow, though there be several large iso- 

 lated stars here and there, but I know not their names. 

 You shall have an account of my first visit to Herschel and 

 his telescope. 



September 1-ith. This morning the chain cables were brought 

 out of their resting place, and displayed on deck ready for 

 action. I packed up to-day. The journalist has nothing else to 

 record. 



September lbth. We succeeded in capturing an albatross 

 which, like a bird of ill-omen, had kept dodging about us .all day. 



" 'Twas right, we say, such birds to slay 

 As bring the stupid calm !" 



We did not kill it, however, but reserve it to a future day. 

 He is a noble fellow, and has quite vindicated the character of 

 his tribe to the incredulous, who had previously despised these 

 fine birds, deemiug them no bigger than sea-gulls. Sea-gulls, 

 quotha ! His wings measured ten feet and a half in expansion. 

 His head large as , and his eyes strong and bright ; the 



